Catfish

"Fishing? In Arizona? What kinda' bait ya' gonna' use to fetch a catfish outta' a field of sand?! Dry gulchin' fish from yer wagon, eh?" I grew up fishing in southern Illinois and Indiana. The closest I thought I'd ever get to real fishing out here would be shooting fruit off of a prickly pear cactus! Gotta' fish them things off the ground mighty carefully!

Well, the reality is that you just don't see many buck boards down at Cluff Ponds or at any of the resevoirs. Guns can be carried in public as long as they're exposed and catfish can be caught in irrigation canals! Don't that beat all?!!

One fella' in a local sporting goods store claimed that the fish bite on the same things that they do back home. I think not! Back home there was as many fish to catch as there were sow bugs to bait yer hook with! Back there you fish around the cat tails and out here ya' gotta' fish around the rocks just right.

Now, cat fishin' ... that there's a different story! Put some heavy test line on yer pole and follow yer neighbor down the canal and ya' might just catch yerself some dinner. Find a pocket in the crik bed and ya' might get sumpin' that'll bend yer pole!

One night I was fishin' at a stocked pond in Chandler, Az. with a buddy. I was told that they had put in an elbino catfish that topped 12 lbs! If'n ya' caught it and showed it to the office ya' got 50.00 off'n yer rent the next month. What kinda' country hick gonna' pass that up? Fifty bucks'll buy ya' a lot of stink bait if'n ya' don't eat it 'fore ya' get home!

Well now, just after dark that night my big ol', red bobber with a light in it took a nose dive. I set that treble hook nice and tight and let ol' Bessie have a run! I figured she was a big 'un by the way that there line was a pullin'.

It warn't too long after we got our two line tangled that I realized I had Mr. Red Eyes the elbino himself! I kneeled down to lip the ol' boy and just as I did the spinklers came on and I slipped right on into the drink! Danny was laughin' his tacos off as he come 'round to help and I was flounderin' about in the water tryin' to grab what ever line I could get my hands on.

Red had shown us an adventure. I didn't mind the loss too much. What's a bad day a fishin' compared to a good day at work? You just ain't been a fishin' less sumpin' silly happens!

Now, I'm thinkin' 'bout tryin' them canals ......